systems and methods for account number generation and provisioning

ABSTRACT

A system for generating charge account numbers, wherein the charge account number is based on a number known to the consumer. For example, the consumer can provide a known number, such as their telephone number, and the system can generate a charge account number using the known number provided. Thus, the known number can be associated with a third party account, such as a telephone service account, and billing for the charge account and the third party account can be combined into one billing statement.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Inventions

The field of the invention relates generally to the generation andprovisioning of account numbers and more particularly to the generationand provisioning of credit card account numbers.

2. Background Information

Internet purchases have become more and more common. In a typicalInternet transaction, a consumer finds an item they wish to purchase ona merchant's web page. The consumer then initiates a transaction and isasked to provide a credit card number to complete the purchase.Unfortunately, as anyone can attest, it is very difficult to remember acredit card number. Therefore, the consumer must have the card presentwhen they are trying to make an “online” purchase of this type in orderto provide the credit card number. Often, such online transactions arenot consummated, i.e., they are terminated by the user. One likelyreason for cancelled transaction is the fact that consumers do not havetheir cards present and cannot remember their credit card number.

Credit card numbers are difficult to remember, because they are long,and they are not based on anything known to the consumer. For example,there are several numbers most consumers are familiar with and that theytend to remember, e.g., telephone numbers, driver's license number,social security number, etc. These number tend to be somewhat shorterand somewhat more constant, whereas conventional credit card numberstend to be longer and less constant. In other words, when a consumergets a new card, upgrades accounts, or losses their card, etc., theircredit card number changes. Thus, a typical credit card number is justnot as indelible to the consumer as some other types of numbers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system for generating charge account numbers, wherein the chargeaccount number is based on a number known to the consumer. In oneaspect, the consumer can provide a known number, such as their telephonenumber, and the system can generate a charge account number using theknown number provided. This can result in a charge account number thatis easy to remember.

In another aspect, the known number can be associated with a third partyaccount, such as a telephone service account, and billing for the chargeaccount and the third party account can be combined into one billingstatement.

These and other features, aspects, and embodiments of the invention aredescribed below in the section entitled “Detailed Description of thePreferred Embodiments.”

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and embodiments of the inventions are described inconjunction with the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process wherein anaccount number is generated based on a known number provided by aconsumer in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a possible format for an account numbergenerated using the process of FIG. 1 from a known number and a PIN;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating another possible format for an accountnumber generated using the process of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process for establishing accountnumbers based on a known number in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a pre-solicitation process accordingto one embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a solicitation process in accordancewith one embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a solicitation process thatincorporates models for assessing the risk of potential customers;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example system configured togenerate account numbers in which combined billing is implemented inaccordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 9 is an example combined bill generated using the system of FIG. 8;and

FIG. 10 is another example combined bill generated using the system ofFIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The systems and methods described herein are directed to systems andmethods for generating charge account numbers based on known numbersthat can be easily remembered by the consumer. The term “charge account”is intended to refer to any account that can be used to make purchasesor transfer money, such as bank accounts and credit card accounts. Theaccounts are often associated with some type of card, such as an ATMcard, bank card, or credit card. Thus, the account number generatedusing the systems and methods described herein can be used to createphysical cards, mobile or virtual credit cards, charge cards, pre-paidcards or stored value cards that can be used broadly at a point-of-sale(POS).

In general, consumer-based known numbers, e.g. birthdays, telephonenumbers, social security numbers, etc., are imbedded within thenumbering sequence containing other intelligence numbers required tofacilitate smooth and unique identification and transaction flow,providing the core numerical intelligence system for the card. A benefitof using a known numbers is that, in a world where consumersincreasingly are required to manually input their credit card numbers,for example, into computers and other data entry devices, such as POSdevices, the task of data entry can be simplified greatly, since theconsumer will simply need to remember a single already known number, andpossibly a few additional numbers.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a simple example process by which anaccount number can be generated that is based on a known number providedby a consumer. First, in step 102, a PIN can be provided to theconsumer. For example, the consumer can log onto a website associatedwith the company with which the consumer has an account, or whishes toestablish an account. When the consumer indicates that he is ready togenerate an account number, he can be provided with, or asked to create,a Personal Identification Number (PIN) in step 104. Alternatively, aconsumer can call into a servicing center and receive the PIN. PINs canalso, for example, be distributed via kiosks, at POS locations, viaemail or regular mail, or via other marketing or advertising methods.

Once the consumer has the PIN, he can then provide the PIN and a knownnumber in step 106. For example, the known number can be a telephonenumber. The known number and PIN can be provided, e.g., via the computeror telephone.

In step 106, the account number can then be generated based on the knownnumber and the PIN provided by the consumer. For example, the PIN cansimply be appended to the known number to generate an account number.

In step 108, establishment of the account and the information provided,e.g., known number and PIN, can be confirmed by contacting the consumerand requesting that they confirm the known number and/or PIN. If theknown number is a telephone number, then the known number and PIN can beverified by calling the telephone number provided and asking theconsumer to provide the PIN.

Other information can also be provided along with the known number andPIN. For example, security information can also be provided, such asmother's maiden name to be used for verification purposes when required.Such information can then be associated with the account and stored forlater retrieval.

While the flow chart of FIG. 1 illustrates a simple method forgenerating an account number based on a known number. It can benecessary to include more information, or fields in the account numberthat is ultimately generated. For example, if there are several issuingentities, i.e., companies issuing account numbers based on known numbersas described herein, then a field can be included in the account numberthat can be used to identify the issuing entity. The systems and methodsdescribed below illustrate further embodiments for generating an accountnumber based on a known number that can address such additionalconcerns.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a possible format for an account numberthat is generated from a known number and a PIN as described above. Ascan be seen, the format consists of a field 202 for the known number anda field 204 for the PIN. Field 204 can, of course, precede field 202depending on the implementation. Further, both fields 202 and 204 cancomprise either all or part of the known number and PIN, respectively.

FIG. 3 illustrated an alternative format that comprises a issuing entityidentifier field 302, a country code or currency identifier field 304, aknown number field 306, and a uniqueness code, or check digitverification code field, 308. The following describes methods for usingthe format of FIG. 3 to generate an account number based on a knownnumber.

First, the issuing entity identifier field 302 can be used todistinguish between multiple issuing entities. This can be illustratedusing the following example:

-   -   Account Number—34 1 212 369 7255 76,    -   where:        -   34=Issuing Identity Identifier;        -   1=Country Code/Currency Identifier;        -   212 369 7255=Imbedded known number (in this case a telephone            number); and        -   76=Uniqueness Code/Check Digit Verification Code.

Thus, as can be seen, when using the format of figure three, the issuingentity can be uniquely identified, but the consumer need only rememberfour additional numbers other and above their phone number.

The uniqueness code of field 308 can, for example, simply be the PINdescribed above. If the country code is not required, then field 304 canbe omitted. If field 304 is omitted and field 308 comprise the PIN offield 204, then the format of FIG. 3 simply becomes the format of FIG. 2with an additional field for indicating the issuing entity.

The known number does not, as explained above, need to be the consumer'stelephone number. In the example below, for example, the consumer'ssocial security number can be used:

-   -   Account number—541 078 23 4786 453,    -   where:        -   54=Issuing Entity Identifier;        -   1=Country Code/Currency Identifier;        -   078 23 4786=Imbedded Social Security Number; and        -   453=Uniqueness Code/Check Digit Verification Code.

ISO identifiers can also be used in field 302. Thus, the followingexample illustrated how the format of FIG. 3 can be used to create anaccount number using a newly issued ISO identifier:

-   -   Account Number—98 27 21 881922 345,    -   where:        -   98=ISO identifier;        -   27=Country Code/Currency Identifier (South Africa/Rand)        -   21 881922=Imbedded Telephone Number; and        -   345=Uniqueness Code/Check Digit Verifications Code.

In all of the above situations, the consumer needs to remember only asmall series of numbers over and above the known number. This makes thewhole number easier to remember and the input into devices requiringmanual or verbal input.

Depending on the embodiment, the known number can be imbedded in anyplacement with regard to the other “intelligence numbers” included in,or used to generate, the account number. For example, the known numbercan be imbedded at the beginning of the series, the middle, or the endof the series. So, for example, the social security number exampleillustrated above could, with the same effect, have numbers arrayed as:

-   -   Account number—5491 453 078 23 4786.

In other words, the formats of FIGS. 2 and 3 are for illustration onlyand should not be seen to limit the possible formats, nor should any ofthe methods for generating an account number described herein be seen aslimited to specific formats.

As mentioned above, the account numbers generated in accordance with thesystems and methods described herein can be used in conjunction withvarious cards. For example, the account number can be used inconjunction with physical cards such as a credit card. In oneembodiment, such a physical card can appear to the consumer as astandard credit or charge card, but with an embedded known numberdisplayed in any human and/or machine readable form, including bar code,chip-in-card, RFID, OCR, etc.

Mobile cards can have the form of a mobile device, e.g., a phone, PDA,etc, that has either unidirectional, e.g., RFID, etc., orbi-directional, e.g., Bluetooth, wi-fi, infra-red, etc., communicationcapability. An account number generated in accordance with the systemsand methods described herein, e.g., using a wireless telephone numberassociated with the mobile device, can then be stored in the mobiledevice. The mobile device can then, using whatever communicationcapability it includes, transmit the account number to a terminal ordevice configured to receive the account number. For example, if acellular phone is configured to act as a mobile card, then a consumercan transmit their account number to a POS terminal using their cellularphone.

Virtual cards have no physical appearance and exist purely as a seriesof numbers that are used, e.g., on the web, or in a mobile or other dataentry systems. In one embodiment, therefore, a virtual card number canbe generated in accordance with the systems and methods describedherein.

If the account numbers generated using the systems and methods describedherein comply with the numbering specifications of the major cardsystems, i.e., Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB, etc.,then a card issued with the number can be used in the various physicaland on-line POS environments as any other card issued in compliance withsuch system. If the issuer chooses to create a unique numbering systemor apply to ISO for a unique numbering system, then merchants will haveto be signed up to accept the cards and the POS environments will needto be modified to accept the new numbering system. Once this is done,the transaction flow for authorization and settlement will be within thestructure of merchant authorization and settlement in the market today.

FIG. 4 is a more detailed flow chart illustrating some of the steps thatcan, depending on the embodiment be involved in the process forestablishing account numbers based on a known number as described above.First, in step 402, the card issuer can define what known numbers theissuer will accept from the consumer to imbed within the numberingsystem of the account. For example, the issuer can decide to accept alltelephone numbers. In step 404, the card issue can then decide what, ifany, additional intelligence is required in the numbering system. Forexample, the card issuer can decide that a systems designator allowingmerchant POS environments to know where to send the card forauthorization, settlement, etc.

Other types of intelligence that can be required, depending on theembodiment, can include internal intelligence for use by the cardissuer, including potentially: a currency designator, a countrydesignator, an issuer designator, a check digit verification number, auniqueness designator, which can allow the card number to be uniqueunder all reasonable circumstances, including duplicate numbers, twopeople with a single known number, errors, etc.

In step 406, the card issuer can then determine what order the data setwill be arrayed in, i.e., into which field each designator and sequenceof numbers will fall in the overall number, recognizing the requirementsof card systems and POS systems.

In step 408, the issuer can then solicit consumers and establish accountnumbers for them, in step 410, using the known numbers identified instep 402 and provided by the consumer.

Solicitation can occur via several methods. For example, a process thatcan be referred to as pre-solicitation can be used. This process isillustrated in conjunction with the process flow chart of FIG. 5. Inpre-solicitation, the prospective customer is informed directly, e.g.,using take-ones, mail, email, outbound phone, etc., or indirectly, e.g.,using advertising, web pop-ups, etc., in step 502, that they are or maybe eligible for a card, or account. The prospect then contacts the cardissuer, in step 504, to provide the card issuer with relevant datarequired for credit approval and to provide them with the known number.Contact with the card issuer can be through mail, telephonecommunication, on-line computer communication, and/or mobile wirelesscommunication.

In step 506, the card issuer can then perform the relevant credit check,if any is required, and approve the account. In step 508, the issuer canthen generate the account number using the known number provided in step504 and issue a card with the account number in step 510. Although, itshould be remembered that the card can actually be a virtual card, orsimply a number stored in a mobile device. Accordingly, issuance in step510 can take many forms depending on the type of card, or use for theaccount.

An alternative method of solicitation is illustrated in conjunction withthe process flow chart of FIG. 6. In the example of FIG. 6, a thirdparty, for example a telephone service provider, provides the cardissuer with information related to a prospective customer in step 602.The information can include the known number for the prospectivecustomer, especially if the known number is, e.g., a telephone numberand the telephone service provider is supplying the information. Theinformation can also include, associated names, addresses and otheravailable data on the prospective customer. The information can then beused to solicit prospective customers in step 606. If required, theinformation can also be used to perform any relevant credit checks, instep 604, and pre-approve the account.

In step 608, the customer can respond to the solicitation and can, incertain embodiments, request an alternative known number be used.

In step 610, the issuer can then generate the card number using theagreed upon known number as described above and issue a card with theaccount number in step 612.

It should be noted that issuance, whether the card is a physical or avirtual card, can be handled by the issuer or it can be outsourced to acard processor, who will issue the cards in accordance with the issuer'srequirements.

Further, in addition to imbedding the known number in the numberingsystem of the card, the card may be issued with or without additionalsecurity features in the card and/or a PIN. The consumer can, dependingon the embodiment, have the opportunity to change the PIN and then selfselect a PIN that is easily remembered by the Consumer.

Provisions can also be taken to provide enhanced risk management. Forexample, when known numbers are supplied by a third party, e.g. atelephone service provider, the third party may have additional data onthe prospect that can enhance the predictability of risk associated withthe prospect. These data, subject to relevant privacy and otherregulatory constraints can be used in models by the issuer to determinewhether the prospective customer is a risk. Such models can be specialmodels constructed to use the enhanced data, or ancillary models thatenhance existing or provide additional filters to models already beingused.

This process is illustrated in FIG. 7. In step 702, the information isprovided to the issuer. In step 704, the model is run to determine therisk using the information provided in step 702 and any additional modelinputs provided by the issuer in step 706. In step 708, a determinationcan be made as to whether the potential customer is a good prospectbased on the results obtained in step 704. If the determination is madeto pursue the customer, then solicitation, e.g., as described inrelation to FIG. 6 can proceed.

The data supplied by the third party, in step 702, can include, forexample, credit performance on the third party product, time inresidence, and period of employment.

The Enhanced Risk Management could apply whether the credit models beingused are developed by the issuer, an outside credit model provider, athird party processor, or a third party bank providing risk managementservices to the issuer.

As mentioned above, if the known number is provided by a third party,e.g., a telephone number provided by a telephone service provider, thenit combined billing can be offered. Combined billing takes advantage ofthe fact that these third parties have their own billing systems forbilling phone falls and services to their customers. Thus, thepossibility exists for the account transactions to be billed on thethird party statement providing greater convenience for the customer inthe form of one bill and one payment. The third party can also benefitthrough the ability to brand and offer cards, e.g., credit cards, as anextended product offering around their core offering. The issuer isbenefited through reduced cost for providing statements and collecting.

Using the telephone number and telephone service provider example, FIG.8 is a diagram illustrating an example system 800 for generating accountnumbers in which combined billing is implemented. System 800 includes acharge account issuing authority 802, an account processing authority804, and a third party billing authority 806, in this case a telephoneservice provider's billing authority.

The term “authority” used to identify charge account issuing authority802, account processing authority 804, and third party billing authority806 is intended to indicate that charge account issuing authority 802,account processing authority 804, and third party billing authority 806communicate through the computing systems, hardware and software,associated with charge account issuing authority 802, account processingauthority 804, and third party billing authority 806. Thus, depending onthe embodiment the term authority can refer to one or more servers, suchas Internet or web servers, file servers, and/or database servers, oneor more routers, one or more databases, one or more softwareapplications, one or more Application Program Interfaces (APIs), or somecombination thereof. Further, the computing system associated withcharge account issuing authority 802, account processing authority 804,and third party billing authority 806 can include one or more computersor computer terminals.

Charge account issuing authority 802 can be configured to generate anaccount number based on a known number, such as a telephone numberprovided by the telephone service provider associated with billingauthority 806. Charge account issuing authority can, depending on theembodiment, also be configured to receive information on potentialcustomers, initiate credit checks, implement risk assessment models,etc. as described above.

Billing authority 806 can be configured to generate and maintain billingstatement information related to the third party's services, e.g.,telephone services, while account processing authority 804 does the samefor the accounts associated with the account numbers generated by chargeaccount issuing authority 802. Thus, account processing authority 804can be configured to provide billing authority 806 with the necessarydetails to bill account transactions fully on a single combinedstatement.

For example, if the account is a credit card account, then the consumercan see their credit card transactions on their telephone bill. Thecombined bill can take a number of forms depending on the legal andmarketing requirements of, e.g., the telephone service provider, theform of the credit card issued, and the card issuer.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example combined bill where the credit cardtransactions form a segment within the overall telephone bill. FIG. 10illustrates an example combined bill where the credit card transactionsform a totally separate payment stream within the telephone bill. Ineach case a payment hierarchy should be established by mutualarrangement between the issuer and the third party. For example, in thecase of the statement for $90.59 in FIG. 9, if the customer remits apayment of $90.00 there has to be an allocation methodology thatprovides a consistent outcome in the allocation of funds.

There are many allocation methods, for example, payment can be appliedin the following order: minimum card balance, telephone balance, rest ofcard balance. This method provides reasonable equity to both entities,as the minimum card balance is paid to avoid penalties and the telephonebill is paid in accordance with normal full payment provisions for phonebills. Alternatively, the payment can be applied in the following order:minimum card balance, rest of card balance, and telephone balance. Thismethod minimizes the interest rate that the consumer will pay on averageand over time.

The processing stream should be closely coordinated so that accountprocessing authority 804 knows when the billing authority 806 willprocess and render the bills. Accordingly, account processing authority804 should be provided information on the third party billing cycles foreach of the cards issued with known numbers and that will be billed on acombined statement. Account authority 804 can then forward the billingfile to billing authority 806 in time for the information to be includedin the statement.

In this regard, it should be pointed out that account processingauthority can be interfaced with a plurality of third party billingauthorities. Thus, combined billing can be offered with a variety ofthird party services.

While certain embodiments of the inventions have been described above,it will be understood that the embodiments described are by way ofexample only. Accordingly, the inventions should not be limited based onthe described embodiments. Rather, the scope of the inventions describedherein should only be limited in light of the claims that follow whentaken in conjunction with the above description and accompanyingdrawings.

1. A charge account system, comprising: a charge account issuingauthority configured to receive a number known to a consumer and togenerate a charge account number for the consumer based on the knownnumber and a number unknown to the consumer for purchasing items, otherthan telephone services, from a plurality of vendors, wherein the knownnumber is a telephone number, and wherein the charge account issuingauthority is further configured to confirm the telephone number byplacing a call to the telephone number; an account processing authoritycoupled with the charge account issuing authority, the accountprocessing authority configured to receive transaction informationassociated with the charge account number and to generate billinginformation associated with the charge account number based on thetransaction information; and a third party billing authority associatedwith a telephone service provider and coupled with the accountprocessing authority, the third party billing authority configured toreceive the billing information from the account processing authorityand to generate a telephone bill which combines the billing informationassociated with the charge account number with billing informationassociated with telephone services provided by the telephone serviceprovider to the consumer.
 2. The charge account system of claim 1,wherein the charge account authority is further configured to receive apersonal identification number and the number unknown to the consumer isthe personal identification number.
 3. The charge account system ofclaim 2, wherein the charge account authority is further configured toconfirm the telephone number by receiving the personal identificationnumber a second time, when the charge account authority places a call tothe telephone number.
 4. The charge account system of claim 1, whereinthe telephone number is a wireless telephone number.